Credit Cards Blog

Hotels are latest breach victims

A company that manages major hotel chains, including Marriott, Holiday Inn and Radisson, confirmed that it experienced a breach last year that exposed debit card and credit card data of its hotel customers in eight states.

The hack comes after national retailers Target, Neiman Marcus and Michaels all recently reported data breaches.

White Lodging said Monday that an undisclosed number of cards were compromised in a data breach that started March 20, 2013 and lasted until Dec. 16, 2013 and affected payment systems of restaurants and lounges in 14 hotels.

The exposed card data included the names on the cards, the card numbers, the card's security code and the card expiration date. The company did not say that PIN numbers of debit cards were exposed.

White Lodging identified the following locations affected by the breach:

Marriott Midway in Chicago

Holiday Inn Midway in Chicago

Holiday Inn Austin Northwest in Austin, Texas

Westin Austin at the Domain in Austin, Texas

Westin Austin at the Domain in Austin, Texas

Sheraton Erie Bayfront in Erie, Pa.

Renaissance Broomfield Flatiron in Broomfield, Colo.

Marriott Boulder in Boulder, Colo.

Marriott Denver South in Denver

Marriott Indianapolis Downtown in Indianapolis

Radisson Star Plaza in Merrillville, Ind.

Marriott Richmond Downtown in Richmond, Va.

Marriott Louisville Downtown in Louisville, Ky.

Renaissance Plantation in Plantation, Fla.

The company said it also suspects that the front desk payment system at the Radisson Star Plaza in Merrillville, Ind., also was also compromised by the breach.

White Lodging has notified federal law enforcement officials and banks and is reviewing the payment systems at all other hotels it manages.

The latest hack comes after Target disclosed in December that it suffered a massive data breach during the holidays that exposed 40 million card accounts and personal data of up to 70 million people. Neiman Marcus and Michaels followed in January with news that they, too, experienced breachs that compromised card data.

Consumers should be vigilant and check their debit card and credit card statements for any irregular activity and notify their bank immediately if they find an unauthorized charge. Consumers should consider placing a fraud alert on their credit reports for added protection.

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